Chettiar

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Chettiar or Chetty
Total population
(14% population of Tamil Nadu)
Languages
Tamil
Religion
Hinduism

The term Chettiar (Chetty) is a title used by various mercantile, agricultural and land owning castes in South India, especially in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.[1][2] In Tamil Nadu, 14% of the population is Chettiar.[3]

"Chetty" derives from the Sanskrit word Shreshti, meaning wealth. It has variants in other parts of India, such as the Setji term used by the Marwaris of Rajasthan.. All of these are mercantile castes.[4]

History

The Chettiar claim a legendary relationship with the Hindu god Murugan (also called Subramaniam).[5]

Social status

The Nattukottai Chettiar are elite bankers.[6]

See also

References

Further reading

  • Christine Dobson, Asian Entrepreneurial Minorities, Curzon Press UK, 1996. (A chapter in the book is devoted to the Chettiars who set up businesses in Burma.)
  • Rajeswary Brown (1993) "Chettiar capital and Southeast Asian credit networks in the inter-war period". In G. Austin and K. Sugihara, eds. Local Suppliers of Credit in the Third World, 1750-1960. (New York: St. Martin's Press).
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  • David Rudner (1989) Banker's Trust and the Culture of Banking among the Nattukottai Chettiars of Colonial South India. Modern Asian Studies 23 (3), 417-458.
  • Heiko Schrader (1996) Chettiar Finance in Colonial Asia. Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie 121, 101-126.

External links